gecko

American  

[gek-oh] / ˈgɛk oʊ /

noun

geckos, plural geckoes plural

1. any of numerous small, mostly nocturnal tropical lizards of the family Gekkonidae, usually having toe pads that can cling to smooth surfaces: the largest species, Gekko gecko, is sometimes kept as a pet.

---

gecko British  

/ ˈɡɛkəʊ /

noun

1. any small insectivorous terrestrial lizard of the family Gekkonidae, of warm regions. The digits have adhesive pads, which enable these animals to climb on smooth surfaces

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• geckoes
  plural
• geckos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gecko

1705–15; < New Latin gekko < Dutch; origin uncertain; alleged to be a Malay word imitative of the lizard's call.

Explanation

A gecko is a small reptile with sticky feet that help it to climb smooth surfaces. In many warm parts of the world, geckos are commonly found on windows, doors, and ceilings. Most geckos are green, although these little reptiles come in nearly every color you can imagine, from brown to electric blue. Their skin is hairy, unlike the thick, rough scales of many lizards. In addition to their famously sticky feet, geckos are notable for their lack of eyelids (they lick their eyeballs to keep them moist), and "scored" tails that snap off easily in the clutches of a predator and grow back rapidly.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gecko geckoes geckos

Turtles and tortoises rarely develop the disease, but a white and yellow leopard gecko known in the pet trade as the "lemon frost" morph develops aggressive tumors in about 80% of individuals.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

Her favorite is their outdoor table, which Greene crafted from leftover teak and inlaid with gecko leaves, a nod to her late mother’s favorite plant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2025

As a common terms, the authors suggested "van Gogh’s starry dwarf gecko."

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2024

For people who prefer to use a common term, the authors suggest "Van Gogh’s starry dwarf gecko."

From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2024

“Yes, mah,” he said, and then began to tell her, in Igbo, how his sister Anulika had suffered a terrible stomachache after killing a gecko.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In particular, the front surfaces of the vertebrae of known snakes and lizards except geckoes are concave, and the rear surfaces are convex; that doesn’t appear to be the case in Tetrapodophis, he says.

From Science Magazine ● Jul. 23, 2015

After two hours of searching the cactus, aloe, and prickly acacia—sometimes crawling to get a better look at tree trunks and leaf litter—I counted exactly six whiptail lizards, three toads, two geckoes, and one santanero.

From New York Times ● Jan. 27, 2011

The geckoes are small, carnivorous, mostly nocturnal animals with large eyes and vertical, elliptical pupils.

From The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary Section F, G and H by Project Gutenberg

The other is said to form a peculiar genus of geckoes, but both its locality and affinities appear to be somewhat doubtful.

From Island Life Or the Phenomena and Causes of Insular Faunas and Floras by Wallace, Alfred Russel

On the narrow table, under cover of stray articles and papers, grey bead-eyed geckoes craftily stalked moths and beetles and other fanatic worshippers of flame as they hastened to sacrifice themselves to the lamp.

From My Tropic Isle by Banfield, E. J. (Edmund James)

Demand has doubled in recent years, with customers buying his moss for hanging baskets in spring and Christmas wreaths in winter, as well as vivariums to keep geckos and iguanas happy all year round.

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026

"In total, 472 exotic animals have been seized, including leopard tortoises, spurred tortoises, Mediterranean tortoises, iguanas, geckos of different varieties, tarantulas and Nile monitor lizards, among others," said a Civil Guard statement.

From Barron's ● Nov. 15, 2025

Listed as threatened since 1990, these long-lived reptiles don’t live alone; they can dig up to 25 burrows a year—and share the space with creatures from geckos to cottontails.

From National Geographic ● Dec. 12, 2023

For example, unlike modern geckos, Helioscopus dickersonae was not primarily nocturnal.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 29, 2023

All God’s creatures have names, whether they slither across our path or show up for sale at our front stoop: bushbuck, mongoose, tarantula, cobra, the red-and-black monkey called ngonndo, geckos scurrying up the walls.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver